Field of the Invention
Embodiments according to the present invention generally relate to a glove and, more particularly, to a supported glove comprising an abrasion resistant nitrile elastomeric coating disposed on a fabric liner and methods of making a glove having liners coated with abrasion resistant nitrile elastomeric coatings.
Description of the Related Art
Gloves are used in many fields for protecting workers, such as medical, industrial, household, and other industries. During use, gloves are subjected to extensive wear from cuts, punctures, and abrasions, creating a need for durability. Furthermore, other in-service requirements include enhanced grip-ability, stretch-ability, flexibility, and other comfort related properties.
Previous supported gloves specified for various industries, which are often used and re-used many times, consist of a fabric liner, such as 10, 13, or 15 gauge liners, having a latex material disposed thereon, e.g., a natural rubber latex, to form a coating covering the liner. However, such gloves generally comprise thick liners and thick coatings, resulting in inflexible and uncomfortable gloves.
Attempts have been made to provide improved polymeric materials so that the supported gloves are flexible. For example, solvent based polyurethane materials have been used as relatively thin coatings. However, solvent based polyurethane materials have relatively poor abrasion/durability characteristics and may contain residual organic solvents, which are harmful to the environment and are allergenic. Furthermore, polyurethane materials tend to be slippery and, absent additional grip characteristics, such as surface texturizations, are unsatisfactory.
Therefore, a supported glove having improved durability and abrasion resistance, and grip characteristics would represent an advance in the art.